REALTY SECTOR HIT: DIP IN SALES, NEW LAUNCHES

MUMBAI: The Covid-19 second wave has badly hit the real estate sector of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), as both, the sales, as well as new project launches, were greatly impacted, revealed a half-yearly report by a real estate consultancy firm, on Thursday.

According to Knight Frank, the second wave impacted the sales figures as 4,855 housing units were sold from April to June, compared to 23,772 units in the first three months of 2021.

Similarly, in the case of new launches, 4,747 new units were launched compared to 31,035 units in the MMR from January to March 2021.

“We witnessed the worst second quarters (April to May), both in 2020 and 2021, for the real estate sector,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India. “The first three months of 2021 saw huge sales due to the stamp duty cuts and also cuts in interest rates,” he added.

This year, April to June was the peak of the second wave and in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra government imposed a lockdown across the state.

The Builders Association of India (BAI) said, “Builders are now flooded with calls from the lenders asking for payments. How can we make the payment when there are no sales at all?,” questioned Anand Gupta, chairman, BAI (housing and RERA committee). “The banks and financial institutions have virtually blacklisted us and we are not getting support from them,” Gupta added.

Paras Gundecha, chairman and managing director, Gundecha Group, said, “There is a possibility of the third wave. In such a scenario, buyers have postponed their buying plans,” said Gundecha.